Here's something new. Leading into this game, it was Detroit saying that this contest would serve as a measuring stick for them. Rip Hamilton, among others, said that this was a chance for the Pistons to see where they're at so far this season, as they knew it would be a big challenge. This sounds like a little thing, but that shows you how you're being looked at around the league. Any win like this for the Blazers, in the last few years, has been seen simply as an "upset." Not anymore.

Aldridge took it to Rasheed Wallace, consider by many to be Aldridge's elder doppelganger, early and often, scoring 13 of his 27 points in the first quarter (the Pistons as a team only score 13 in the first). It's the third-consecutive game that the Blazers have come out and built a double-digit lead in the first period, and you can see how loose they play when they have success early.

The Pistons first unit was as bad (a combined -83) as the second unit was good. Guys like Rodney Stuckey and Amir Johnson got Detroit back into the game, but the Blazers, despite their youth, never panicked. They kept grinding it out and eventually went on to win by 11.

What I liked best about Portland's triumph at Detroit Sunday afternoon is the way it came about. The Pistons made a solid run back at the Blazers in the second half and even tightened up their defense a lot, which I thought might derail Portland. But the Blazers calmly survived the run and then pulled away at the end. That's what good teams do.

Brandon Roy is such a steady hand on the wheel. He just keeps getting better. And Nic Batum -- you're seeing him now at the end of games and how amazing is that? A 19-year-old kid is not supposed to be out there to close games. But you don't have any choice -- his consistency is superior to Outlaw's at this point. LaMarcus Aldridge dominated Rasheed Wallace, too -- and you gotta like that.

To their credit, the Blazers didn't give the Pistons any time to develop rhythm. For the umpteenth game in a row, we jumped out to a hot start and tonight it was all LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 7 of our first 9 points and was hitting jumpers short, medium and long throughout the contest. While LMA was handling the scoring, Greg was busy manning the defensive glass: his 8 boards in the game's first 9 minutes limited Detroit's second-chance scoring opportunities. Entering the game, I'm sure there were more than a few observers chuckling at the Oden vs. Kwame Brown matchup. But Greg got the last laugh tonight: another double-double (11, 13 and 3 blocks) and his first extended play during crunch time against a top opponent.

Four of Detroit's six losses this season have happened on that day of the week, which includes Sunday's 96-85 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.

After an Allen Iverson jumper cut Portland's lead to 80-79 in the fourth quarter, the Trail Blazers closed out the game with a 16-6 run for their first win at The Palace of Auburn Hills since Dec. 18, 2004.

Here is this game in a nutshell: The bench held the red-hot Blazers scoreless for more than five minutes and triggered a 15-0 run in the second quarter. But after the starters were reunited, the Blazers closed the half by scoring on eight straight possessions.